Had the great misfortune of catching the fourth quarter of last night’s Celtics-Knicks game from Madison Square Garden.
I suppose there’s a 60/40 chance the Big Trade (caps intended) works out in the long run for New York. Anthony is extremely talented, and if the NBA is, indeed, a league of superstars, well, the team has two. Bravo!
That being said, man, in a matter of weeks the Knicks have gone from riveting to really, really, really boring. With the trade they are officially merely another bogged-down, dull-as-dirt two-man operation. Wait for Amar’e to shoot. Wait for Melo to stoot. Stand around the perimeter. Dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble. I’m not saying I’m an expert, but Anthony is my least-favorite genre of professional athlete—a one-dimensional, score-and-score-some-more black hole who plays terrible defense and rarely finds (or looks for) the open man.
I suppose what irks me the most is the lack of, well, organic material. Back when I was growing up, and the Knicks began to emerge, it was a very organic process. OK, they got lucky by landing the first pick to draft Patrick Ewing. But then they added Gerald Wilkins and Mark Jackson and Rod Strickland via the draft. They traded for Charles Oakley, signed John Starks as a nobody free agent. There were a couple of vets who hung around (Trent Tucker comes to mind), but not many. It was a piece-by-piece job, and fans enjoyed that growth process.
Now, in 2011, this just doesn’t feel right. I want to develop with a team; to see baby steps. You make the playoffs. Then, the next year, you win a round. Then two rounds. Gradually, you add pieces. You’re a contender. You’re in the finals. You’ve made it. The Nets of the early 2000s actually did this very well. One huge blockbuster—Jason Kidd from the Suns—surrounded by a bunch of draftees (Keith Van Horn, Kerry Kittles, Kenyon Martin) and a couple of nice pickups. That’s how you construct a team.
The Knicks feel like a rush job. But not a good rush job.
I’m bored.
PS: And I love that the franchise is upping season ticket prices by nearly 50% next year. Typical.
